1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for two-sided or multi-sided application of at least one self-adhesive label to a three-dimensional object, which has a protrusion defining a fillet, in particular in the form of a web-shaped rim, comprising a transport or support surface supporting the object to be labelled, at least one applicator means, by means of which the label can be applied to the protrusion of the object, and at least one pressing means, comprising a pressing body or a compressed air nozzle, for smoothing the label onto the fillet of the object.
2. Description of Related Art
Nowadays, foods in particular are often packaged in plastics material or aluminium trays, which have a peripheral web-shaped rim or flange which serves as an adhesion or joining surface for a sealing foil which is to be glued or welded thereto or provides positive fitting of a lid. The plastics material or aluminium trays used in this context are often of a substantially rectangular shape having longitudinal sides and shorter transverse sides. Substantially rectangular packaging trays of this type make it possible to use space efficiently when arranging similar trays in containers, for example in a refrigerator. However, packaging trays of other shapes are also common, for example circular, oval or triangular trays, and may also have a peripheral web-shaped rim or flange for applying a sealing foil or a lid.
Packagings of this type, in particular food packagings, are often labelled on two or more sides, a single label being glued to the sealing foil or lid on the upper side, the front wall, the underside and optionally also the rear wall of the packaging tray, in such a way that the applied label extends over the externally projecting web-shaped rim. Conventionally, the label applied in this manner is not positioned parallel to the contour of the packaging, but spans the fillet, which is located between the outer edge of the web-shaped rim and the front wall of the container, with spacing (see FIG. 9).
In practice, it has been found that labels applied on two or more sides are often torn or ripped in the region of the fillet of packagings of this type. The label may in particular be torn or ripped during the assembly and/or transport of a plurality of packagings of this type in external packagings, if the web-shaped rim of one packaging presses or impacts under the web-shaped rim of a corresponding adjacent packaging and against the label which is stretched over the fillet of said corresponding adjacent packaging with spacing. A torn or ripped label does not merely give the packaging an unpleasant appearance; sometimes, the damage to the label also means that it is no longer easily possible to read a barcode printed on the label, and so the relevant product cannot be reliably identified using a scanner, for example at a till. Moreover, labels applied on two or more sides often also have a sealing and guarantee function; in this context they may be referred to as sealing or guarantee labels. If a label of this type is ripped or torn, the customer will assume that the packaging may already have been opened, and that the quality and/or quantity of the contents may no longer be as it should.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,155,322 discloses a labelling device with which self-adhesive labels can be applied to packagings having a flange which defines a lower fillet and an upper fillet. The device comprises two telescopically formed push rods, arranged above and below a belt conveyor, which transports the packagings. Each push rod is provided, at the free end thereof, with a tamping head, which is used to smooth the respective label onto the lower or upper fillet. The operation of the push rod which smoothes the label onto the lower fillet requires a longitudinal division of the belt conveyer into two separate belts, separated transverse to the transport direction, in such a way that the push rod can be moved through between the belts.
The object of the present invention is to provide a device for two-sided or multi-sided labelling of objects which each have a web-shaped rim defining a fillet or the like, said device resolving the above-described problem where the label tears or rips in the region of the fillet, and also being usable in combination with conventional conveyor belts, i.e. conveyor belts which are not divided in two.
This object is achieved by a device having the features of claim 1.